Sealed package



July 3l 1945" 'w. K. BERTHOLD 2,380,395

SEALED PACKAGE I 'Filed May 21, 1943 ALL., .1x

A ASN A i Patented July 31,1945 I i assoss SEALED rAoxAGE Walter K. Berthold', Rockville, Conn., assigner to Hartford-Empire Company, Hartford, Conn., a

corporation of Delaware Application May 21, 194s, serial No. 487,892 4 claims. (ci. 21a-4o) This/invention relatesgenerally to improvements in sealed packages. It relates more par-V ticularly to a sealed package of the type which comprises a glass container, a cap closure for the container and a gasket of compressible, resilient material pressed between lateral surfaces of the container and the cap to provide a hermetic seal.

less compressed or fully expanded portion of the gasket which is located in the wider end portion ofythe annular space between the cooperative concentric sealing surfaces. In consequence, any

An object of the invention is to provide an v improved sealedfpackage of the character described whereln'the closure cap can be quickly and easily applied to the container to cooperate therewith and with 'a sealing gasket to provide an effective hermetic seal, will be securely retained in place to maintain-sueh'seal even though subjected to substantial shocks, jars and -internal pressure, and can be quickly and easily, removed when opening of the package is desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sealed package of the character described wherein the same closure cap and gasket maybe used repeatedly to close and seal the glass container, being readily removable in reusable'con'- dition and replaceable at will.

A-sealed package provided in accordance with the present invention may comprise a glass jar or other glass container formed with an external annular sealing surface thereon adjacent to the mouth of the container. A cap'closure for the container has -a cooperative internal annular sealing surface formed on a skirt portion of the cap in position to encircle the. sealing surface on the container in spaced concentric relation therewith when the cap has been applied to the container. 'l'.'he annular sealing surface on the containerl may decrease in diameter from the end portion thereof nearest to the mouth of the container toward its opposite end and thus ,may be said to lbe of inverted truste-conical or downwardly tapering shape. 'I'he cooperative.annular sealing surface on the skirt portion of the cap closure may be cylindrical in shape.

The gasketl may be an endless ring of rubber or` some rubber-like or other compressible and rllient material. The ring may be of rectangular cross-section, and is of sumcient inner and outer diameters to be pressed between the two cooperative sealing surfaces to provide an 'eilective hermetic seal'when-the cap has been pressed onto the container. The construction and arrangement-are such that-any pressure tending to move the capaxially from its applied position will be resisted' not only by the friction between the contacting surfaces of the gasket and of the container and skirt'of the closure, respectively. but by a Wxlgins action exerted by the relatively .ing surface being on the container;

pressure, internal or otherwise, tending to lift or force the cap axially fro'm the container will be firmly resisted. The cap can be readily pried oil the container, however, because it then lis swung pivotally at one side against av portion of the gasket as a fulcrum at the opposite side of the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter be pointed out or will become apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention, as shown in the accompanying drawing. in which:

Figure l is a fragmetaryy view, partly in elevation'and partly in vertical section, showing`the upper end portion of one form of sealed package embodying the invention, the truste-conical seal- Fig. 2'is a fragmentary vertical sectional view to illustrate the relative positions of the open end or neck nish portion of the container, the gasket, and the cap at the beginning of thev op eration of pressing on the cap to form the sealed package of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View of the package shown in Figs. 1 and 6, illustrating the operation of prying the cap from the container.

'Ihe sealed package shown in Figs. 1, 6, 7 and 8 comprises a. glass Acontainer I, specifically a jar.

This jar mayhave beenvformed in any suitable known manner by-any suitable known machine. The open end-l or neck finish portion 2 of the jar has been formed with an external annular inverted frusta-conical sealing surface 3 thereon adjacent to the end surface 4 at the mouth of the jar. is of greater diameter at its end nearest to the mouth of. the jar than at its opposite end. At

`its .larger-fend, the inverted frusta-conical surface 3 may bevmerged into the end surface 4' by a rounded corner surface 5. The juncture 0f the Tliev invertedfrusto-conical surface 3' larger end of the surface 3 and end surface l might be enected by any other suitably shaped connecting surface. At its lower or smaller end. the inverted frusta-conical surface 3 is merged into an outwardly and downwardly inclined surface 6. constituting the upper surface of an external flange or bead 'I on the neck of the Jar. At a predetermined distance below the flange 1, .the jar is enlarged to form the indy thereof, thusf providing a shoulder l. 'I'his shoulder l may serve as a rest for a cap pry-0F. implement, as

Vhereinafter will be pointed Out.

The cap closure which is adapted to cooperate with the iar I may be made of glass. It may comprise a cover or head portion 3 and a depending annular'rim flange or skirt Il. The head or cover portion l may have its central part la depressed so as to, depend into the neck portion of thejar while leaving an annular clearance space I I between the end surface 4 at the mouth of the jar and the overlying portion of the cap when the latter is in appliedpposition. The inner wall of the skirt of the cap is formed to provide a cyiinaricai sealing lz extending from the juncture of the skirt and the head or cover portion of the cap for a sufficient part of the length of the skirt to cooperate effectively with the inverted frusta-conical surface 3 on the neck of the jar when the cap is in Iapplied position. 'I'he surface I2 may merge at its lower end into a downwardly enlarging inclined guiding surface I3 extending past the ange I on-the neck of the jar. The skirt of the cap may be of sumcient length to extend nearly but not quite to the shoul- `derloftliejal'.A y

' The surface I2 preferably is merged at its upper end into the -lower surface'of the head or cover portion of the cap by an arcuately curved or ,rounded surface at the inner corner of the cap,

as indicated at I 2a. l v p 'I'he diameter of the cylindrical sealing surface I2 is sufliciently greater than the-diameter of the larger upper end of the inverte. frusto-conical sealing surface 3 on the neck of the jar tol cause these surfaces to define between them and annular space in which a gasket I4 may vbe partially compressed and distorted plied position. Y

' 'I'his gasket compression space is narrowestbetween the upper end of the sealing surface 3 and' the directly encircling portion of the surface I 2.

when the cap is in apf seat on the sinrace t at the top of the aange 1.

Such' compression and distortion of the gasket as occur at this stage are in a direction generally 'dlsnal of the gasket from its upper outer corwith relation to the vertical central line of the` v.iar and is attended by a slight distortion of the f. ner toward its lower inner corner.

4Further movement of the cap downwardly toward its applied position will compress the gasket between the upper part of the inverted' frustd-conical surface 3 and the downwardly moving guiding surface I3 of the skirt of the cap in the heavily stippled Portion II,f as shown in Fig. 3. 'This compression is exerted in a generally downward andv inwardly inclined direction gasket, as shown,- after the latter .has been forced against its seat on thesurface I of the flange l.

When the cap has progressed downwardly' in `its movement onto the jar to the position shown p in Fig; 4. the compression of the gasket will be mainly throughout the intermediate vportion thereof indicated by the heavy stippling at I1 innig.;

By the une the cap 4reaches the position mustrated in Fig. 5, the cylindrical gasket sealing surface I2 has in part had sliding ncontact with the outer surface of the gasket and has compressed a. substantial portion of the gasket, extending from near the upper end thereof for more than half its length .between itself and the cooperative sealing surface 3, as indicated The gasket has been distorted so that .Y it is slightly narrower at its intermediate portion It is partially closed atv its bottom by the surface 6 of the flange l on the neck of the jar. The gasket Il is a ring of rubber or rubber-like material, preferably of rectangular cross-section when in -its expanded or pressure-free condition. The inner ,diameter of gasket preferably is .about that of tlie diameter of the smallest end of the inverted frusta-conical sealing surface 3 and thus is slightly smaller in diameter than the upper larger-diameter end of such inverted frusta-conical surface;y The outer diameter of the gasket is slightly more than the diameter of the cylindrical sealing surface I2 on the inner wall of the skirt of the cap. The height of the gasket ring, in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 6, 'I and 8, is slightly greater than the vertical distance between the surface I on the flange l of the neck of the jar and the level of the upper end surface 4 at the mouth of the jar.

The operation of app and sealing the cap S-Il onto the jar i to form a sealed package substantially as iust described is illustrated as successive stages in Figs. 2@ to 6, inclusive.

As shown in Fig. 2, the gasket Il has been than at its lower part and extreme upper end.

Fig. 6 shows the cap in its fully applied position. 'At this time, an upper portion of the gasket is compressed between the diagonally aligned corner surfaces at the rim of the jar and the inner .wall of the cap, respectively, as indicated at I3. 'I'he curvature of the inner corner surface I2a of the cap aids in biasing the upper end portion I! of the gasket to the position shown as the cap is applied. The lower end portion of the gasket is in a less compressed condition as indicated at 2l in the wider lower portion of the space between the cooperative surfaces 3 and I2.

. The intermediate portion of the gasketis under greatest compression between the upper part of the sealing surface 3 and the directly outlying part of the cooperative sealing surface I2, as indicatedatZL .scopic relation to the gasket on the latter. If desired, the gasket may be wetted to facilitate the application of the cap. y

The cap of the sealed package described will be held securely in place on the Jar. Should by the heavy stipditions.

internal pressure tend will tend to move upward with the cap. This and consequently upward movement of the cap will be resisted by the more expanded lower portion of the gasket, which must be compressed radially before it can move through the narrower space between the upper part of the inverted frustoconical sealing surface 3 and the cylindrical sealing surface I2. Internal pressures of as much as 16 pounds per sq. in. have been successfully resisted by hermetic seals of the invention like that just described.

The cap can be removed readily from the jar, when desired. As shown in Fig.- 8, a suitable implement 24, which may be a spoon handle or the like, has been placed on the shoulder 8 beneath an edge of the shirt ofthe cap and is being manipulated as a lever to pry, off the cap. The cap then will swing on the lower portion, indicated at 25, of the gasket at the side of the jar opposite the lever. .This will tend to relieve the compression on the thelever, as indicated at 26, so` that the cap may be quickly and'easily pried olf, leaving the gasket in substantially its original condition. The cap therefore may be readily replaced on the container and the seal again established.

'A feature of advantage of thev sealed. packages of the invention is that the sealing action of the gasket is such and is so produced that compressible material of considerably lower grade than high grade rubber may be used to providean effective seal, particularly under certain conwherein a partial vacuum exists in the container, gasket materialsmay be used which become quite plastic and lose most, if not all, of their elasticity at comparatively low temperatures. 1 have satisfactorily, used in containers having a partial vacuum therein gaskets made of material which becomes quite plastic at from about 212F. to 260 F. Koroseal" is an example of a rubber substitute which has been successfully used by me as gasket material in producing sealed packages in accordance with the invention.

Moreover, the sealing action is effected without cutting or deforming the elastic material beyond its elastic limit. The same gasket there- I fore may be used repeatedly in different sealing operations. Y,

, Various types of glass containers, including bottles, tumblers and different kinds of jars, and various types of cap vclosures and gaskets other than those shown in the drawings obviously may vused in making sealed packages of the invention substantially in the manner herein particularly pointed out or -in various modications thereof which readily will oc ur to those'skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A sealed-package comprising a glass container having an opening at the upper end thereof and between the glass of the cap portion of thegasket above surface remote from said mouth, said sealing surface decreasing in diameter from its end portion nearest to said mouth toward said flange, a glass closure cap having a skirt extending downwardly over the upper end portion of the container in spaced concentric relation therewith, said skirt having an internal substantially cylindrical surface located directly outward from said external sealing surface on the container, said cap having an arcuately curved inner corner sur-.A faceat the upper end of said ylindricalsurface, and a gasket of compressible resilient material. said gasket, when uncompressed, being rectangut lar in cross-section and of greater height than the vertical distance from said flange to the level of the upper end of the container, the inner diameter of said gasket being less than the diameter of the larger, upper end portion of said external annular sealing surface on the container and its outer diameter being slightly larger than that of the cylindrical sealing surface on skirt of the cap, said gasket being disposed on the upper end portion. of the container so as to be seated at its lower end on said flange and to be interposed mainly between said sealing surfaces and compressed thereby to a greater extent by the upper end portions of said sealing surfaces than by the lower end portions thereof, the upper end portion of the gasket extending above the level of the upper end ofthe container and being compressed inwardly and downwardly by said arcuately curved inner corner surface of said cap.v

2. A sealed' package comprising a glass continer having an opening at one end thereof and provided with an external annular sealing surface adjacent to the mouth of said opening and with an external flange at the end of said sealing surface remote from said mouth, a glass closure cap for the container having a skirt surrounding theportion of the container provided with said sealing surface and with said flange iny spaced In packages of the present invention of said opening toward said concentric relation nular sealing surface decreasing in diameter from the end thereof nearest the level of the mouth said cap having an internal sealing surface of substantially cylindrical configuration located directly outward from said first-named sealing surface, said skirt having an annular guiding surface of enlarging diameter extending from said cylindrical sealingsurface toward the free edge of said skirt and surrounding said ange, and a gasket of' compressible, resilient material of rectangular shape in cross-section an'tv of greater thickness in cross-section when uncompressed than the width of the narrower portion of the Y space between said sealing surfaces, said gasket provided with an external annular. sealing surbeing disposed between said sealing surfaces so 'as to be seated at one end against said flange and rbeing sufflciently longer than the distance between said flange and the level of the mouth of the containerl opening to extend beyond the latter so as to beA compressed longitudinally between the flange and said capfand forced partially against the adjacent end `surface of the container when the cap is applied. Y

3. A 'sealed package comprising a glass container having an openingat the upper end thereof and provided' with an external annular flange on its upper end portion and with an external annular side sealing surface thereon above said flange, a'glass closure cap having a cover portion overlying the upper end of a skirt lportion extending downwardly over the inner wall of the Y therewith, said external an' flange, the skirt of the container and the having an internal annular side sealing surface located directly outward from said external side sealin-g surface on the container, said two side sealing surfaces -being cooperatively congured to define between them an annular gasket-receiving space of decreasing width from the upper surface of said an'ge to a level near that of the upper end of the container, vand an annular gasket of compressible, resilient material having its lower end seated ori the said flange and extending upwardly in the space between said cooperatively congured side sealing surfaces to a level above that of the upper end of the container, said gasket, when uncompressed, lbeing of rectangular shape in cross-section and havin-g a thickness greater than the width of the narrower upper portion of the space between said side sealing surfaces and a length greater than that of said space so that, on application of said cap to said container. said gasket will be compressed radially between the upper portions of said cooperative side sealing surfaces and longitudinally between said ilange and the cover portion of the cap, the upper end portion of the gasket thus rbeing forced partially between the upper end of the container and the cover portion of the cap.

4. A sealed package as in claim 3 wherein the cap has an arcuately curved inner corner surface engaging with the outer upper corner portion of the gasket to press the upper end portion of the gasket downwardly and inwardly against the upper end of the container. 

